1. Gung-ho goes tragically wrong
The actual number of lost bookings was not divulged, but the cause of a recent no-show epidemic in Chicago was revealed in precise detail this week.
An overzealous employee of OpenTable wanted to demonstrate that his company was a more reliable business generator than a competitor, Reserve. So he booked hundreds of bogus reservations through the rival service over a period stretching from the holiday season through Valentine’s Day, knowing the 45 or so burned establishments would take notice when guests didn’t honor the bookings.
Reserve noticed, too, as was first reported by Eater Chicago. The reservation service traced the fake bookings back to OpenTable, and presented the evidence to its rival. OpenTable determined that the source of the ruse was an employee who intended to put the ineffectiveness of Reserve reservations into his or her sales pitch (the identity of the employee was not revealed). The person used a variety of aliases to make the bookings.
The con artist was sacked, and OpenTable apologized to the affected restaurants.
“We have already begun outreach to the restaurants affected and will reimburse them for lost revenue,” OpenTable CEO Christa Quarles said in a statement presented as an open letter to the restaurant community.